Phonograph



' May 22,1923; 1,456,039

- G. M. RENTZ PHONOGRAPH Filed Nov. 21, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 22, 1923; I 1,456,039 v G. M. RENTZ PHONOGRAPH, v I Filed Nov. 21 1921 25heets-Sheet 2 Q. 9% PH 73 I 27 JJ :4

32 I F 1 1/! f lz A 4o m 2, A L I J :1 I

v M W N/ i' t l ll /'y Fiatented GEORGE M. RENTZ, F WELLS,"MINNESOTA.

PHONOGRAIPH.

Application filed November 21, 1921. Serial No. 516,850.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. linN'rz, a citizen of the United States, residln at Wells, in the county of Faribault and tate of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonographs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates broadly to phonographs and more specifically to the sound amplifier or horn and the cabinet.

16 To the above end, the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in' the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in central vertical section taken as through a phonograph having the invention embodied therein, with some parts shown in different positions by means of broken lines- Fig. 2 is a view principally in verticai section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section taken 'on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, with the main and supplemental covers open;

Fi 4 is a fragmentary detail view partly in p an and partly in horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly, in plan and partly in horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

The numeral 6 indicates a cabinet having an open bottom and supported on legs 7" considerably above the floor. The front of the cabinet 6 is closed by a hinged door 8, back of which is a plurality of vertically 4a spaced shelves 9 for holding records 'or containers for records and it is important to note that said shelves terminate considerably short of the back of the cabinet. At its top, the cabinet 6 is closed by a main cover 10 and aesupplemental cover 11- v'erticall spaced, the former above the latter,

to a 0rd at compartment 12 therebetween and which sup lemental cover 11 affords a table top, whic carries the sound-reproducingmechanism, as will presently appear. Both covers 10 and '11 are hinged to the back of the cabinet 6 for vertical swinging opening and closing movements.

To hold the main cover 10 in various different open positions, there is provided a counterbalancing device, which includes a toggle-link 13, a horizontally dis osed pressure lever 14 and a spring 15. the toggle link 13 is pivoted to one side of the main cover 10 and the other end thereof is pivoted to a depending bracket 16 rigidly secured to the bottom of the supplemental cover 11. A grooved wheel 17 is journaled to the toggle link 13, at the joint thereof, and arranged to travel, under the straightening and buckling movements of the toggle link 13, on the upper edge of the forwardly projecting long arm of the lever 14, which is intermediately fulcrumed to the bracket '16 above the pivoted lower end of said toggle link. One end of the spring 15 is attached to the short arm of the pressure lever l iand its other end is connected to the lower end of the bracket 16 by'a thumb-nut-equipped bolt 18, by which the tension of the spring 15 may be varied, at will.

To automatically lift the supplemental cover 11 by the opening movement of the main cover 10 beyond a predetermined position, there is pivoted to the bottom of said supplemental cover, at one side thereof, a depending arm 19 which extends through an aperture in a latch plate 20 on a block 21 secured to the bottom of the supplemental cover 11. In the free end of the arm 19 is a latch notch 22 arranged to interlock with the latch plate 20, when the main cover 10 is raised beyond a predeterminedposition, and hereby connect the supplemental cover 11 to the main cover 10, so that further opening movement of said main cover will automatically raise the supplene end ofvv mental cover 11 and support the same, as

shown by broken lines in Fig. 1. To prevent the arm 19 from accidentally slipping out of interlocking engagement with the latch plate 20, there is formed in said latch plate, back of the aperture, a small aperture 23 for receiving the heel of said arm referred to includes a motor 24, a recordholding turn-table 25, a sound box 26 and a tone arm 27, the latter of which. is swiveled in a bearing 28, secured to the top of the supplemental 'cover '11 at the back thereof, for horizontal swinging movement over the turn-table 25. This turn-table 25 is carried by a post 29, which extends from the motor 24 through an aperture in the supplemental cover 11 and which motor is attached to the bottom of said cover. The end of the tone arm 27, mounted in the bearing 28, extends into an aperture 30, which extends completely through the supplemental cover 11.

The reproducing mechanism just described is of standard and well known construction. Rigidly secured to the bottom of the supplemental cover 11 is a channel guide 31 having in its bottom an aperture 32 axially aligned with the swiveled end of the tone arm 27, and mounted in said guide is a sliding gate 33 which completely fills said channel guide and is provided with an aperture of the same size as the apertures 30 and 32, between which it is located, and which gate may be adjusted to vary the operative size of the aperture in said gate. To operate and hold the gate 33 in difierent adjustments, the same is provided with a screw 34 having a knurled head and extending through a slot 35 in the supplemental cover 11, where it maybe easily operated. Said screw 34 is provided with an annular shoulder36 arranged to bear against the top of said cover when the screw 34 is turned.

down and thereby frictionally clamp the gate 33 to the under side of the cover 11.

Within the cabinet 6, back of the shelves 9, is a sound amplifier 37 commonly called a horn, of novel construction. This horn 37 is in communication with the tone arm 27 and is open at its bottom so that the sound therefrom passes through the open bottom of the cabinet out into the room on all sides thereof. The horn 37 as shown, is of double formation and resembles a horeshoe as to form and the downturned ends thereof are open. In the crown of the horn 37 is a throat block 38, the opening in which is in registration with the tone arm 27 through the apertures 30 and 32 and the gate 33, which, in reality, form portions of the throat connection between the tone arm 27 and the horn 37. Extending transversely through the horn 37, below its throat 38, is a wedge-shaped sound deflector 39.

To permit the supplemental cover 11 to be lifted without disturbing the horn 37, said horn is yieldingly suspended from the cabinet 6 by a leaf spring 40 intermediately secured to an offset 41 on the throat block 38, with its ends engaging a block 42 secured to the back of said cabinet. This block 42 is notched to receive the throat '43, on the back and sides of the cabinet 6,

hold the lower'end portion of the horn ,37

against lateral movement but with freedom for the required vertical movement. The spring 42 holds the throat block 38 yieldingly pressed against the bottom of the channel guide 31 when the supplemental cover 11 is closed, and a pliable packing 44 is interposed therebetween to afford a tight joint.

When the supplemental cover 11 is raised, the channel block 31 moves away from the throat block 38 without disturbing the horn 37 with the exception that said horn is slightly lifted by the spring 40 so that when the supplemental cover ll-is again closed, the horn 37 is depressed against the action of the spring 40 and thereby forms a tight joint between the channel guide 31 and the throat block 38.

From the above description, it is evident that, by opening the cover 10, access may be .had to the compartment 12 and, by opening said cover beyond a predetermined point, the supplemental cover 11 may be opened to afford access to the interior of the' cabinet 6, motor 24 and horn 37 without disturbing any of the mechanism. By adjusting the gate 33, the volume of sound may be controlled and, as previously stated, the horn 37 has downturned open ends so that the sound emitted therefrom enters the room from the four sides of the cabinet 6 and is thereby directed'in all directions into the room. Phonographs are now designed with horns arranged to emit sound into a room in one direction. only, thus making it difiicult to hear all parts of the room and it often happens that a person standing directly in front of the sound amplifier, when he is operating the phonograph or selecting the record, muffles the sound. The arrangement of the horn 37 also permits the use of the entire front of the cabinet 6 for records.

-What I claim is:

1. The combination with a cabinet having a displaceab-le table top, of a tone arm mounted on the table top, a sound amplifier with which the tone arm has communication through a passagewayin the tabletop, and yielding means entirely suspending the sound amplifier from its receiving end within the cabinet and ,nnder strain to lift the same. said sound amplifier being arranged in the table top, said sound amplifier having 3. The structure defined in claim 2 in at its receiving end a lateral ofi'set, a leaf which the sound amplifier is vertiimlly spring supported on said abutment and guided bythe abutment. yieldingly suspending the sound amplifier, In testimony whereof I aflix my signasaid sound amplifier being arranged to be t'ure. I

enga ed by the table top and depressed there y to form a tight joint therebetween. I GEQRGE M. RE NTZ 

